In Chatham County, Georgia, the Magistrate Court issues civil and criminal warrants. It is also possible to file a “pre-warrant” in the Magistrate Court. This is a request from an individual that a criminal report is issued against an alleged offender. To file a pre-warrant, the citizen must have the defendant’s correct full name and the address of his or her home, as well as a report from the Savannah-Chatham police relating to the incident. Once the pre-warrant has been filed, a date for a hearing will be set, in which both parties will have a chance to speak. The judge will then issue an arrest warrant if there is sufficient evidence indicating that an offense has occurred. It is also possible for the Magistrate Court to issue a good behavior warrant filed by an individual threatened or harassed and has given their harasser previous notice not to contact him. After the excellent behavior warrant has been served, the alleged offender can agree to waive their right to a hearing so that the warrant’s terms are in effect for sixty days. Otherwise, a court date will be set for the hearing. Once issued, the sheriff’s office executes the active warrants. The Street Operations Division is responsible for serving warrants, and although it is a small unit, it boasts the second-highest rate of arrest in the county.
The sheriff’s office does not provide warrant information over the phone. If you want to check on an active or outstanding warrant, you can visit the office located at 1050 Carl Griffin Dr., Savannah, GA, 31405, off Chatham Parkway. Their hours of operation are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. The sheriff’s office does post-arrest records for the preceding twenty-four and seventy-two hours. That information can be found online at http://chathamsheriff.org/Corrections/Bookings-24hrs, and there is a link from that page for older records. They also have a sex offender registry. The court system of Chatham County has a searchable database for court cases. You can search by name or case number. The database is located at http://www.chathamcourts.org/. Finally, the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police post weekly crime statistics for the city at http://www.savannahga.gov/Archive.aspx.
Is it possible to get information on Chatham County arrests and warrants over the phone? (2021-Update)
- To request an arrest report, criminal background checks, or the police report of an incident/accident, contact the Records Division at (912) 652-7658.
- To inquire about recent arrests, call Booking at (912) 651-3700.
- To learn more about active warrants, contact Street operations (Criminal) at (912) 652-7624.
- For information on current inmates, call Corrections at (912) 652-7700.
- To obtain case-specific information concerning a criminal complaint, contact the concerned detective by calling the front lobby at (912) 652-7785.
- To get general information and to file a non-emergency complaint, call the Sheriff’s Department at (912) 652-7634.
- For inquiries about court dates and judicial records, contact the Clerk of the Magistrate’s Court at (912) 652-7181 or the Clerk of the Superior Court at (912) 652-7200.
Crime Statistics of Chatham County, GA
The Chatham Sheriff’s Office received around 7600 criminal complaints in 2019, compared to the 10,433 criminal instances of 2018. Nearly 4900 larceny thefts, over 920 burglaries, and around 650 motor vehicle thefts were included in the property offences category. Around 800 aggravated assaults, 121 rapes, and over 260 robberies were included in the violent crimes category.
Between the years of 2008 and 2010, a little more than 39,000 crimes occurred in Chatham County, Georgia. They were comprised of rape, murder, larceny, theft, robbery, burglary, and vehicle theft. In 2008, almost 13,500 crimes took place – and in 2009, that number rose to just over 14,000. However, by 2010 the number of crimes had dropped significantly, falling to only under 11,600. If the number of crimes continues to drop that drastically, the trends for Chatham County, GA, will be very encouraging in the future.